Leniency in Academic Integrity due to pandemic.

Hello all, I am a student at OU and I have not one but two pending academic integrity violation allegations for which I’m awaiting investigation completion and a hearing. I took linear algebra over summer and on the test before the final had two incorrect answers that the professor says were overly similar to other students in the class. I failed that class independently of the integrity allegation and am now retaking it. I have now been accused of using an online solution to directly copy a homework problem. I sincerely did not cheat, and assume the mumbo jumbo to arrive at our wrong answers when we have only a vague understanding of the material can only be so diverse in a math course, which is why I figure surely, even incorrect work will eventually look similar to another student’s in classes of more than 40.

My question, then, is two fold. My school (university of oklahoma) has an integrity policy of not necessarily needing the proof to be beyond reasonable doubt. So if I do end up having to bite the bullet over this, do you figure the school would be less aggressive with their response compared to a normal year given the huge influx of academic integrity violations the school has seen since covid?

Secondly, what do you figure my odds are of convincing the integrity council of my case? I have videos that I could show them that I used for practice and supplementation that might have made other students and me use terms (like nullity (which the professor didnt use) rather than kernel) that made our problems look similar and suspicious.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. My entire hope of a better future is at this place. Thanks!

I would not expect the college to give you any leniency on academic dishonesty based on the pandemic. However, if you didn’t cheat, you absolutely should make your best case and insist on a fair hearing. Hoping for leniency due to covid isn’t a good look. If you are truly innocent of the accusations, you are innocent regardless of any outside circumstances.

I agree, academic integrity should not be lenient ever…remember that by taking a class and getting a grade it shows that you have mastered some level of the material and are prepared to use it in a next class or in a job. I think it is even more important to enforce academic integrity during remote learning.

As to your accusations, I would ask to talk to the professor and show them how you got the answers you did (with out using notes).